Oral Answers to Questions

Lillian Jones Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

It is obviously the case that adequate replacement bus services should be available to rail travellers if there is disruption on the line—for example, if engineering works are taking place. I would be happy to follow up if the hon. Gentleman writes to me and provides more detail on the specific experience that he has had. East Midlands Railway is responding to the Bedford train crash that happened a number of weeks ago, and I thank the leadership of that organisation for all the work that they are doing in response.

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

8. What steps she is taking to support the delivery of mass transit systems.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)]

Mass transit systems can radically improve local transport in towns and cities across the UK, but plans can often be slowed down by fragmented funding arrangements, difficulties acquiring land, and planning delays. The Government’s new mass transit taskforce will seek to remove those blockers, and our call for evidence on how that might work is now open. We are also devolving powers to local leaders so that they can deliver schemes faster, unlock growth, support new homes and better connect communities.

[Lillian Jones]

Scotland’s new Transport Secretary has criticised the UK Government’s transport policy on High Speed 2 for being dysfunctional, yet after two decades in government, the SNP have failed to deliver a rail link to Glasgow airport. That is a vital infrastructure project that would boost economic growth, improve connectivity and create the integrated transport network that Scotland needs. Does the Secretary of State agree that rather than seeking to distract from their own abysmal record in government, the SNP should focus on delivering that major infrastructure investment, which is within their power and would bring lasting benefits to the people of Scotland?

[Heidi Alexander]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I suspect the people of Glasgow are at their wits’ end with the approach to that project, having seen it repeatedly promised and deprioritised over the course of two decades. I assure her that my Department remains committed to working constructively with the Scottish Government on this, and I urge them to support my hon. Friend’s work to get the project delivered.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill

Lillian Jones Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 11th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

I rise to speak in this important debate as we address the challenge of modernising fuel sources and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. I declare my interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the wood panel industry. The transition to net zero in aviation is not just a climate imperative but an industrial opportunity. I commend the Government for bringing forward the Bill, which aims to provide long-term certainty for investors in the UK’s growing sustainable aviation fuel sector. However, in our efforts to decarbonise aviation, we must be careful not inadvertently to harm other strategically important industries that also contribute to our economic growth and environmental goals.

The UK wood panel industry is one such sector. It generates more than £1.1 billion in gross value added and supports more than 10,000 jobs across the UK, many in high-skilled manufacturing roles in Wales, the north of England and Scotland, including my home of Ayrshire and beyond. Those are well-paid, productive and future-facing jobs.

The sector is one of the UK’s largest industrial recyclers of post-consumer waste wood. It takes what would otherwise be discarded and turns it into essential materials for furniture, interior design and—crucially—the homes we are building, yet there is genuine concern that the SAF revenue certainty mechanism could distort markets by incentivising the diversion of recyclable wood and forestry products to fuel production. We have seen that before with the renewable heat incentive, where subsidies inflated virgin wood prices and squeezed out established manufacturers. We cannot afford to repeat that mistake. I am pleased to hear that Ministers have met industry representatives, listened to their concerns and responded positively. I would like to invite my hon. Friend the aviation Minister to come and speak to the APPG so that he can hear from the industry at first hand.

The SAF mandate rightly references the waste hierarchy, prioritising reuse and recycling before energy recovery. However, the enforcement mechanisms remain unclear. If high-quality waste wood is drawn into SAF production, prices will rise, availability will fall and our domestic supply chain will suffer.

Let me be clear that I support the ambition of SAF. I also support the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million new homes, but that will not be possible without affordable, sustainable construction materials, including wood panels. I urge Ministers to maintain the current safeguards in the SAF mandate, uphold the exclusion of virgin and recyclable wood from eligibility, ensure robust enforcement of the waste hierarchy so that only truly non-recyclable wood can be used, and put in place transparency mechanisms so that we can track what feedstocks are being used. If we get the balance right, we can deliver cleaner skies and affordable homes, and we can decarbonise aviation without decimating domestic manufacturing. Let us make SAF sustainable in every sense: environmentally, economically and industrially.

Disruption at Heathrow

Lillian Jones Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and associate myself with the comments of gratitude towards the firefighters and airport staff who responded to the incident. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that passengers have sufficient rights to receive support and compensation when these kinds of external events disrupt their plans?

[Heidi Alexander]

Airlines are responsible for providing passengers with a refund within seven days, or to be re-routed to their destination under the same conditions, with required suitable accommodation and food. That is the airlines’ responsibility. We have advertised the rights of passengers via the Civil Aviation Authority in recent days to ensure that people are aware. Those are the provisions that exist within our law to compensate people who have been affected by this type of disruption.

Oral Answers to Questions

Lillian Jones Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

The nationalisation of ScotRail has been another SNP transport fiasco. The Scottish Government’s flagship £25 million scheme to boost the amount of freight transported by rail failed to achieve growth. Their mismanagement of ScotRail and their own budget has led to a double-whammy price hike for passengers, with the return of peak fares at the same time as price rises. Does the Secretary of State agree that, at a time when we need better trains to boost growth and reduce emissions, the SNP has instead consigned Scotland to a spiral of decline and let my constituents down?

[Heidi Alexander]

I agree. We will not make the same mistakes when we take train operating companies into public ownership. We will do it properly. It is a massive undertaking, but we will make our railways a system for the whole country to be proud of.